Advanced Copyediting and Proofreading Course

Lesson 1 • Professional Standards and Ethics

Introduces editorial ethics: confidentiality, impartiality, and scope boundaries. Prepares students to navigate client relationships professionally.

Lesson 2 • Core Responsibilities of a Copyeditor

Defines the copyeditor's mandate: grammar, consistency, clarity, and style. Connects these duties to measurable quality outcomes in published text.

Lesson 3 • Defining the Editorial Spectrum

Clarifies the hierarchy from developmental editing to proofreading. Positions copyediting and proofreading within the full publishing workflow.

Lesson 1 • Sentence Structure and Syntax

Examines clauses, phrases, and sentence types to diagnose structural errors. Connects syntax knowledge to clarity and readability improvements.

Lesson 2 • Grammar in Specialized Text Types

Applies grammar rules to technical, legal, and journalistic writing styles. Prepares students to edit across genres without imposing inappropriate standards.

Lesson 3 • Parts of Speech in Editorial Context

Reviews nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs with editorial application. Grounds grammatical analysis in real manuscript scenarios.

Lesson 4 • Agreement, Case, and Mood

Addresses subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, and subjunctive mood. These advanced grammar points are frequent sources of error in edited manuscripts.

Lesson 1 • Navigating Style Guide Decisions

Teaches how to locate, interpret, and apply style guide rules efficiently. Covers conflict resolution when guides disagree or leave gaps.

Lesson 2 • Creating and Maintaining a Style Sheet

Introduces the editorial style sheet as a project-specific consistency tool. Students build and update style sheets throughout a copyediting project.

Lesson 3 • Overview of Major Style Guides

Surveys widely used style guides and their primary domains of application. Enables students to select the appropriate guide for each project type.

Lesson 1 • Types of Consistency Errors

Catalogues spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, and numerical inconsistencies. Builds awareness of the full range of consistency problems in long documents.

Lesson 2 • Consistency in Technical and Reference Documents

Applies consistency principles to tables, figures, cross-references, and terminology. Addresses the unique continuity demands of technical and reference publishing.

Lesson 3 • Continuity Errors in Narrative Text

Focuses on character, timeline, and setting continuity in fiction and narrative nonfiction. Teaches tracking methods to catch errors across long manuscripts.

Lesson 1 • Comparing Proofs Against Source Copy

Covers the process of reading a proof against the edited manuscript to catch introduced errors. Builds accuracy in detecting typesetting and formatting deviations.

Lesson 2 • Digital Proofreading Workflows

Adapts proofreading skills to PDF annotation and on-screen mark-up tools. Prepares students for the dominant delivery formats in modern publishing.

Lesson 3 • Common Proofreading Errors to Catch

Catalogues the most frequent errors that survive copyediting and appear in proofs. Sharpens targeted attention to high-risk error categories.

Lesson 4 • Standard Proofreading Marks

Introduces the conventional mark-up symbols used in print proofreading. Ensures students can communicate corrections clearly to typesetters and designers.

Lesson 1 • Diagnosing Clarity Problems

Identifies the root causes of unclear prose: ambiguity, abstraction, and wordiness. Connects diagnosis to targeted, minimal editorial intervention.

Lesson 2 • Sentence-Level Editing Techniques

Applies concision, active voice, and sentence variety to improve readability. Teaches editors to intervene at the sentence level without altering meaning.

Lesson 3 • Readability Metrics and Tools

Introduces readability formulas and their editorial applications and limitations. Equips students to use metrics as diagnostic aids rather than absolute standards.

Lesson 1 • Editing Marketing and Promotional Copy

Addresses the editorial demands of persuasive and brand-driven writing. Covers accuracy, legal sensitivity, and brand voice consistency.

Lesson 2 • Editing Technical and Instructional Documents

Applies editorial skills to manuals, procedures, and instructional content. Focuses on precision, numbered steps, and terminology consistency.

Lesson 3 • Editing Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

Addresses the unique editorial considerations of narrative and creative texts. Balances grammatical correctness with intentional stylistic choices.

Lesson 4 • Editing Academic and Scholarly Texts

Covers citation formatting, hedging language, and disciplinary conventions in academic editing. Prepares students to work with complex, citation-heavy manuscripts.

Lesson 1 • Effective Author Queries and Communication

Develops the skill of writing clear, respectful, and actionable author queries. Covers tone, specificity, and the balance between instruction and suggestion.

Lesson 2 • Scoping and Estimating Editorial Projects

Teaches how to assess manuscript complexity and estimate time and cost accurately. Connects scoping skills to sustainable freelance and in-house practice.

Lesson 3 • File Management and Version Control

Establishes best practices for naming, saving, and tracking manuscript versions. Prevents costly errors caused by working on outdated or incorrect files.

Lesson 4 • Managing Multi-Round Editorial Workflows

Covers the sequence of editing, author review, and proofreading rounds in publishing. Prepares students to coordinate multiple stakeholders across a project timeline.